Once upon a time, there were Left Front governments in three states-West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala. We used to say that communism was still alive in these three states and that half a province existed in Jawaharlal Nehru University, or JNU, while the other half existed in Jadavpur University.
But eventually, after 50 years, West Bengal was taken over by the BJP. The Left Front ruled Bengal for 34 years, while Mamata Banerjee ruled for 15 years. In Kerala, Congress is now in power, while Tripura is ruled by the BJP.
At JNU, after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, the political culture of the university also slowly began to change. Swami Vivekananda's statue was installed on the JNU campus, leading to considerable uproar. There was a debate over the installation because Swami Vivekananda was a Hindu sannyasi. Even though he himself spoke about socialism, some ultra-Left students opposed the installation of his statue. The JNU administration has also undergone many changes since the BJP came to power. Even in student elections, although the Left remains dominant, the ABVP has managed to create some space for itself.
But today's discussion is not about JNU. It is about the other university of West Bengal, which is now at the centre of a major controversy: Jadavpur University.
Before coming to the present controversy, it is worth quickly recalling how Jadavpur University became a Left bastion from the 1960s onwards.
Jadavpur University was born out of the Swadeshi movement in 1905. In 1955, the National Council of Education transformed it into a university. But in 1967 and 1970, when the Naxalbari movement was raging in Bengal, Jadavpur University and Presidency College became two of the major centres of Naxal activity in Kolkata.
In 1970, unfortunately, the Vice-Chancellor of Jadavpur University, Gopal Sen, was killed by Naxal students because he refused to postpone examinations. That incident firmly established the image of Jadavpur University as a radical university.
Then came the long Left Front era, from 1977 to 2011. The CPM ruled Bengal for 34 years. During this period, the student unions of Jadavpur University and the teachers' association, JUTA, came under Left control.
Even the famous engineering college's student union, FETSU, was controlled by DSF-the Democratic Students' Front, which was actually an ultra-Left organisation. In the Arts Faculty, FAS and SFI dominated, while in the Science Faculty, WTI, along with independent groups, had a Left-leaning presence.
The Trinamool Congress's student wing, TMCP, could never win Jadavpur University, even after Mamata Banerjee came to power in 2011. The TMC made many attempts, but it could not break the Left's hold.
Jadavpur is famous for its history of political protest. There were anti-Emergency protests here. In 2007, there were protests against Nandigram. In 2014, the university witnessed the "Hok Kolorob" movement, during which the Vice-Chancellor was kept under siege for around 150 hours following a molestation case. That movement eventually became a national issue.
In 2019, BJP Minister Babul Supriyo was also 'gheraoed' at Jadavpur University.
The Left has retained control over the hostels. Teachers still have JUTA's dominance. The administration has traditionally maintained a police-free campus, with police entry generally requiring the Vice-Chancellor's permission. As a result, Left groups have been able to maintain their dominance.
The TMC and ABVP-the latter being an RSS-affiliated student organisation-have tried many times to establish themselves but have failed.
The latest clash, however, took place this week between ABVP and Left-leaning student groups. The immediate dispute centred on a general body meeting of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students' Union. The ABVP questioned the legitimacy of the meeting, while Left-leaning groups maintained their position. The disagreement eventually turned violent, with several students injured and allegations of vandalism and the presence of outsiders being traded by both sides.
But the BJP's game plan here is not simply about the allegation that some external students were attacked or that Left students held a meeting. There has been no authorised student union election at Jadavpur for a long time. Even when Mamata Banerjee was in power, the government could have held elections but did not. The fact that student elections have remained pending for so long is unfortunate.
Mamata Banerjee, too, has not taken to the streets in a particularly active way after this incident. She has issued a statement. But it is also true that she never really tried to confront the ultra-Left character of Jadavpur's student politics directly.
Now, the BJP's intervention cannot be seen as something that happened abruptly.
The BJP MLA from Jadavpur, Sarbari Mukherjee, became directly involved in the political controversy surrounding the incident. She went to the area and made strong statements against what she described as Maoist, Naxalite and "anti-national" elements. Several students and opposition leaders accused her of provoking the violence. Mukherjee, however, later denied entering the university campus or provoking the crowd, saying that she had only accompanied BJP youths during a peaceful assembly near the Jadavpur police station. She also said that the BJP has never been associated with the ABVP.
The BJP leadership has also sought to distance the party from the ABVP. State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said that the ABVP is not the BJP's student wing but an independent nationalist student organisation.
At the same time, there was a major controversy over the university's emblem. ABVP members were accused of damaging the Jadavpur University emblem and trampling on it. The emblem carries a significant memory of the country's freedom movement, and damaging it in this manner inevitably became connected to the larger political conflict with Left politics.
Despite all this, Education Minister Jagannath Chattopadhyay said that strong action would be taken at Jadavpur University. The Chief Minister also did not directly oppose the BJP's position. Rather, the Chief Minister, Suvendu Adhikary, wanted to project the idea that Jadavpur University had become a centre of Maoism and ultra-Left politics.
The language of "tukde-tukde gang" has also entered this political debate. In other words, the BJP is once again trying to frame the conflict as a battle against ultra-Leftism-a theme that the party had also raised during the recent Gen Z movement.
Therefore, the BJP appears to have a political action plan for Jadavpur University. The objective is to change the university's existing cultural identity and establish a different form of Hindu nationalist politics and nationalism there. For that, there could be a change of vice-chancellor. If necessary, student union elections could be held at the appropriate time. Before that, however, there is an effort to create a mood, build an atmosphere and generate a wider debate across the state over what Jadavpur University should represent.
A section of civil society has also taken out marches against the violence and alleged political interference. The BJP has argued that some of these protests were essentially Leftist demonstrations, pointing to the slogans and placards associated with Left student unions. At the same time, a counter-march was organised under the leadership of BJP MLA Sarbari Mukherjee, which the BJP's opponents have described as a BJP-sponsored civil society mobilisation. The result is essentially a conflict between these two political forces.
But the larger question remains: What is the future of Jadavpur University?
The academic standard of Jadavpur University remains strong. From comparative literature to international relations, and across several faculties in the arts and sciences, the university continues to perform well and produce good results. That is precisely why the present political extremism is damaging Jadavpur University even further. The university's academic reputation should not be allowed to be overshadowed by political confrontation.
Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta has also said that instead of turning the matter into another political rivalry, there should be an effort to restore the university's image and bring both sides to the table for discussion and dialogue so that a solution can be found.
Ultimately, Jadavpur University's greatest strength has always been its academic excellence, intellectual tradition and culture of debate. The present political conflict should not be allowed to destroy those very qualities that made the university important in the first place.
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
